DevOps Tools Are Not Magic Bullets

They’re shiny. They’re new. And they’re what DevOps is all about! The cool toolsets that enable such amazing IT performance call out to us: “Download me! Install me! I’ll make your IT-life great!”

But don’t fall for their Siren Song!

While it is true that DevOps maturity requires a good toolset, it is also true that DevOps is much, much more than just implementing tools. DevOps is about people, and it is about the processes we use. DevOps often requires us to rethink the architecture of our systems and services, even how our organization is structured. And DevOps will inevitably raise cultural challenges that no tools can address.

So, while we “automate everything we can”, we must take care about how all of these shiny new tools will work with the realities of the people, processes, architectures, organization, and culture of our IT shop.